 |
 |
Other issues: Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
Want this column emailed right to you each month? Have questions of your own about wellness and nutrition? Email us!
Aimee's Soapbox!
January 2004: “The Unexamined Life”
First, let me thank you for reading this inaugural issue of Aimee’s Soapbox.
I mean, it’s really nice of you to allow me this venue to rant about my favorite topic—health and wellness.
If you’ve been in the store, you know that I could talk to you about vitamins and nutrition and weight
training for days! And yet, here you are, voluntarily subjecting yourself to more. So, thank you.
I will do my very best to entertain, inform, enrich, provoke, and prod.
That being said, if you are reading this column looking for the usual “New Year’s Resolution” yada yada yada,
you can stop reading right here. This is not that kind of column - No doubt you have figured that out already,
based on the name “Soapbox” - Nope, my purpose here is not to rehash the same information that you see every
January in every magazine in every grocery store. Rather, my purpose today is to propose that you consider
changing your perspective permanently, not just this year.
For instance, let’s say you decide to try a new diet. And let’s say your motivation for this new diet is weight loss.
So you go about eating only low-calorie or low-sugar or low-fat foods because you know that a lower calorie intake will
result in weight loss.
(Now, I realize that I am making a lot of assumptions and a lot of sweeping generalities here, but hey, it’s my column
and sometimes I will do that to make a point. After all, I didn’t call it “Aimee’s Objective Truth.”)
Anyway, you are now eating what are most likely highly processed foods. Foods that are low-sugar and low-fat tend to
have artificial flavors and additives in them to make up for the removal of the previous offending sugary or fatty component.
And so you have chosen processed, chemically-altered foods because you believe that the Low Calorie Factor is more important
than the Unprocessed Whole Food Factor. Your perspective, then, is that a skinny body is of more value than a healthy body.
Yikes.
Here is where I am going to ask you to do the aforementioned perspective-changing. This is the hard part. Many of you are
fiercely attached to your old perspectives. “After all,” you say, “they have served me quite well up until now.” Well, I
submit that perhaps they HAVEN’T served you so well. Or that perhaps there is something out there that might BETTER serve.
OK, where was I? Oh yes……
Skinny more important than healthy?
Now, this diet example was just that—an example. No doubt, you have - and I have, too - other areas in your life where you
may not be fully conscious of the underlying belief structure or motivations for your habits. So think about it. What is
your belief system about your running? Do you run for the sheer joy of it, for the fresh air, for the competition, for the
calorie burn, for self-esteem? What is your belief system about nutrition? What is your belief system about your body?
I propose to you that instead of the usual resolution-making, you examine your belief structures this year. Why do you do
the things that you do? Are those things still serving you well or are they beginning to show a little wear around the edges?
Or, worse, are they actually harming you?
Maybe it’s time to adopt some new perspectives and new beliefs. Examine why you do what you do. Do some research on yourself.
And do some research on your current habits. Are you running 100 miles a week or eating only 1000 calories a day because you have
studied exercise and nutritional theories and decided that it’s a sound approach, or are you overtraining and undereating out of
an emotional response to an unresolved issue in your life. I believe that we all have areas in our life that could use a little
housekeeping, and maybe now it’s time to sweep out the cobwebs, shake out the rugs, and let in some light. It might be dusty, dirty,
and sweaty going for a while, but the end result will be worth it.
Well, with any luck, I have entertained, informed, enriched, provoked, and/or prodded. At the very least, I hope I have not bored,
dulled, lulled, or droned. Of course I welcome any comments, questions, and suggestions. If you have any of these, or ideas for
future articles, please write to me at aimee@happyrunning.com or call me at the store (610-296-2868).
Enjoy a wonderful year of new adventures!
Want this monthly column emailed right to you? Email us!
|
|
|
|
